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Caesar's Legion
Caesar's Legion is a large autocratic, traditionalist, slaver society located in the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River in the former Midwestern United States. It's founded and lead by the ideals of the ancient Roman Empire and are well-organized and fierce fighters who've strucken fear in the hearts of many throughout the Mojave Wasteland and are currently at war with the rival state of the New California Republic. History Origins and Foundation Sometime in the year 2246, a group of nine researchers from the Followers of the Apocalypse were sent to the Arizona Wasteland to study and record the region's tribal languages. One of the researchers named Edward Sallow met with Mormon New Canaanite missionary Joshua Graham, a specialist in tribal dialects. Not long after their travels, the two of them were captured by the Blackfoot tribe and were both held for ransom. During this time, the tribe was at war with other rival tribes and was suffering heavy losses due to their lack of skills in wafare and Sallows ended up aiding and training them against the wishes of Graham. As a result of Sallow's aid, the Blackfoots began to win and Sallows ended up taking over as their new leader. As chief of the Blackfoots, Sallows intoduced them to firearms, gun usage, proper marksmanship, sharper and better blunt weapons, and pre-war military tactics and strategies. He eventually helped the Blackfoots conquere all rival tribes and had them all annexed under his control and called them his "legion". He then took the title of Caesar and established Caeser's Legion in 2247 under his direct control. From there, Caesar would grow and expand across the Mojave Wasteland becoming a powerful warlord and one of the region's most feared figures in the process. Growth and Expansion As leader of the legion, Caeser began to reorganize the various tribes into an effective fighting force. He had their tactics be based on the concepts of divide and conquer and total war. The policies and structures of the ancient Roman Empire were also revived along with other traits such as the language of Latin and the Cult of Mars was established becoming the legion's official religion. During the early days of the legion, Caesar expanded his power and territory and began to wipe out and annex all other tribes in the region from the weakest to the strongest. After conquering the tribes, all tribe members were killed or enslaved while some lucky few were drafted into the legion's military and sacrifices became a part of legion culture as a way to honor the war god of Mars. The legion continued to march forward and waged war against more tribes and groups having their land and territory annexed into his and finding new warriors to conscript and other people to enslave. Such a campaign would go on for years until in 2271, over eighty-six tribes were annexed into Caesar's Legion and it expanded all across the center of the former United States and began marching westward to New California unaware what had awaited them there. Around that time, Legion forces made it to New Vegas which they saw as sinful and were ready to take it when they came across the New California Republic, a large democratic federation in the region and the two ended up getting into a full-blown war within the instand the two factions came into contact. First Battle of Hoover Dam A war broke out between the NCR and the legion and the legion knew it so they marched forward to war. Legion forces eventually made it to Hoover Dam, an old pre-war hydroelectric dam that was both still active and had control over the power supply in the region. Seeking to take it and use it to cripple New California, legion forces marched forward and began attacking the NCR garrison at the station lead by Malpis Legate. At first, Malpis had the upper hand and the NCR forces were on the retreat. Unknown to him however, it was nother more but a trap and C4 was detonated killing hundreds of legion soldiers. Legion troops fled east to the dam in retreat and were picked off one by one until only a handful returned home with the rest either dead or captured. Furious over the defeat and failure of his legate. Caesar had Graham made an example of where he was burned and thrown into the Grand Canyon and his name was forbidden. Lanius eventually took Graham's place as the new legate and leader of the legion's military. Reorganization and Vegas After the humiliating defeat at Hoover Dam, Caesar's Legion decided to retreat and regroup in their territories located in the Mojave Wasteland. The legion quickly began re-establishing its power in the region and began to march forward towards New Vegas, a powerful city state and one of the last bastions of old pre-war world enclaves in the entire world, and wanted to annex the strip and enslave its population. Legion forces also challenged the NCR by attacking and destoying numerous towns and settlements under NCR control and forcing the nation-state into a war which would soon dominate the entire region. Caesar soon found the NCR to be a perfect rival for the legion and would make it his goal to destroy the NCR senate and replace it with his dictatorship and wanted to establish a new Roman Empire. As the NCR and the Legion battled it out across the Mojave Wasteland, several third party factions got involved and New Vegas established a reputation of being a regional power by keeping both sides at bay and retaining neutrality. Second Battle of Hoover Dam Sometime around 2281, Caesar's Legion had managed to reorganize and were ready to go on the offensive once again targeting Hoover Dam once more and they were still seeking to take it. During this time, a mysterious figure known as the Courier had became active across the Mojave Wasteland. The legion had attempted to reason with the Courier but, she rejected their offer and turned on them effectively siding with the NCR. Despite her betrayal, Caesar ordered that the Hoover Dam be invaded and taken over. An assault was launched against the Hoover Dam but this time, the NCR were ready and even had back up. The Courier was able to gather numerous allied factions such as the Followers of the Apocalypse and the Enclave Remnants and pushed back the legion troops. During the initial assault, the legion went from underneath the dam and took the NCR troops by surprise but, they were eventually beaten back thanks to the NCR Rangers as well as air support from NCR bombers and an assault force comrpised of NCR Rangers, Enclave Troops, and other allies that were available along with other anti-legion groups. The legion forces were eventually pushed back and withdrew from the Hoover Dam heading back to Legate's Camp and the legion troops tried to regroup believing that the NCR wouldn't attack them but, they were wrong as the Courier, with the support of General Oliver, launched an assault on the camp and Legate Lanius made his famous last stand before he and the surviving forces were all killed. Any remaining Legion troops were taken prisoner and the battle was won by the NCR once again. Caesar heared this news and afterwards, ordered the legion to retreat back into New Mexico and the entire Mojave Wasteland was annexed into the NCR but he was killed by an NCR strike force lead by the Courier before he could retreat to New Mexico while the rest of the legion escaped outwest. NCR Invasion of Arizona A year later in 2282, Caesar's Legion was on the run and was in near-ruin. With Caesar and Lanius dead, Aurelius of Phoenix took over and became the third Caesar of the Legion. To make matters worse, the Treaty of Lost Hills ended the NCR's long war with the Brotherhood of Steel, freeing up numerous assets, including aircraft, armor, and artillery, the bulk of which was previously deployed against the Brotherhood. The increased threat was further enhanced by the alliance between the NCR, the Brotherhood, the independent city of New Vegas, the "Boomers", and the Zion tribes. This allied force launched an offensive, pushing the Legion back into Arizona, towards their capital of Nova Roma (former Flagstaff). NCR forces used their newly freed up armored forces to rapidly move across the desert, surrounding and seizing Legion-controlled cities with Nova Roma falling on April 9th, 2282. Aurelius of Phoenix was killed in the siege of Nova Roma, and the position of Caesar was taken up by Marius, Aurelius' successor as governor of the Legion territory of Phoenix. This victory was followed up by the capture of the Grand Canyon by April 16th. After the Grand Canyon offensive, the NCR forces were forced to hold position during the hot summer months, but NCR forces continued their offensive in September of that year, taking Sedona, Siege of Prescott, and finally, Phoenix by mid November, the latter victory being sealed by a southern flank attack by veteran tank commander of the Brotherhood War, Ignacio Ramirez, effectively surrounding the city. Starting in October of 2282, the NCR also attacked the small Legion outpost on I-40 east of Flagstaff, including Winslow, Holbrook, and Gallup, former New Mexico, aided by the remnants of the Union of the Ute and Navajo Nations, who began their own attacks as occupying Legion forces were weakened by reinforcements being rushed west to defend against the NCR invasion. Fragmentation , Tan: New Vegas Union, Orange: Republic of Arizona, Light Blue: Union of the Ute and Navajo Nations, Yellow: Republic of New Mexico, Green: Llano Confederation, Red: Remnants of Caesar's Legion.]] The fragmentation of the land controlled by Caesar's Legion can arguably be seen as having started as soon as the first Caesar, Edward Sallow, was killed. While Lanius, Aurelius of Phoenix, and Marius all claimed rule over the entire Legion empire, in truth, they had little control of the lands east of Albuquerque, with few settlements east of that point sending troops to defend Nova Roma when called up. Instead, the Legion governors, particularly those of the area around the ruins of Denver realized that, after the massive losses at Hoover Dam and particularly after the fall of Nova Roma, that the leaders no longer had the strength to enforce their power over the eastern half of the Legion empire, causing it to break up into smaller de-facto independent states. In some regions, Legion governors continued to rule much as they had under Caesar, while in others, anything resembling the Legion regime quickly fell apart as settlers returned to their old ways and reverted to their old identities as members of tribes or small city-states. In western New Mexico, where substantial numbers of troops were levied, remaining Legion forces began to prove unable to suppress insurgents hiding in the mountains and other wilderness areas, which slowly began retaking major settlements. The first and most well-known example of this is the latter stages of Ute-Navajo War of Liberation. As of 2283, the two largest area that were still ruled by leaders following the "Legion model" of society were the Colorado Legion, who controlled the Front Range of Colorado, centered around the ruins of Denver, and the Southwest New Mexico Legion, who controlled much the southwestern part of former New Mexico, as well as a small part of what was once Texas and Mexico. This area includes the cities of El Paso, Juarez, Las Cruces, Silver City, Lordsburg, and Deming. Government Caesar's Legion is an autocratic slaver state ran by Caesar and only Caesar. The head of the legion rules as the absolute ruler and is unopposed and the Legate is the commander-in-chief and head of the military. The legion is dictated by a hierarchical system in which there are numerous ranks and castes that make up legion society and anyone who abstains from the system or is a non-legion citizen is considered immoral and is in dire need to be converted and/or enslaved. Caesar's Legion however, is a slaver army first and foremost and is lead by Caesar. There is only Caesar and no other tribe will exist under his rule and the banner of the legion. List of Caesar's *Edward Sallow (2247-2281) *Lanius (August 14th-18th, 2281) *Aurelius of Phoenix (2281-2282) *Marius of Phoenix (2282-Onward) Crime and Punishment Caesar's Legion is infamous for their brutal and inhuman torture tactics and methods of execution. Being modeled after the ancient Roman Empire, the legion employs many of the same tactics and forms of punishment as the Romans did back in their day. *'Crucifixion: '''The most common form of execution, the victim is brought to a cross where they're either tied or nailed to the cross and are displayed for all to see whether it be in the public squares of legion controlled cities or in open fields for travelers to see. It sends a message to potential enemies of the legion and wanderes that the legion is not to be opposed. *'Death by Burning:' Another common execution method, the victim is either brought before a bruning fire or is drenched in gasoline and then set on fire. Either way, the victim dies via burning and his burnt corpse is either thrown into a fire with other bodies or tossed down below in nearby valleys to lay there and rot. Notable victims include the Mayor of Nipton and Joshua Graham *'Decimation:' A special form of execution, decimation is reserved only for military commanders and leaders that have either failed Caesar or are accused of defying him. The accused is brought before his men where he's then beaten to death by his new replacement. Not only is the commander killed, but every tenth of his legionnaires are also beaten to death as well, warning all in the legion to meet the harsh standards set up by Caesar himself. *'The Lottery:' One of the most infamous and well-known execution methods, the lottery is when an entire town is occupied by legion forces and its inhaibtants play a lottery like "game" where they pick lottery tickets up at random. The winner is allowed to walk freely unharmed and his life is spared while the runner up is crippled via a hammer, but is still allowed to live. The unlucky losers however, are treated to execution with some being beheaded, while others are either crucified or survive and are sold into slavery. *'The Viewing:' An unnamed method, the viewing is an execution method where known triators and spies who are discovered are brought before Caesar himself in a personal "viewing" with him. There, the accused is hacked to death by Caesar's Praetorian guard as punishment with the remains being fed to either wild animals in legion captivity or even slaves disgused as meat. Other methods of execution are well known and carried out, but are often overshadowed by the more brutal and infamous methods which are favored by the legion. Public beheadings are a common execution method and are usually done in front of slaves or citizens in legion-occupied towns that have complied to their rule. The accused are usually weak and dying slaves who are unable to continue their work or a collaborator who's unable to pay the legion the debt that he owes them. Whippings are also common, but many victims are reported to have survived so it's a lesser known method as a result. Military ''Main Article: Military of Caesar's Legion Caesar's Legion itself is a large slaver army and is a military in of itself. Soldiers of the legion are known as Legionnaires and are divided into positions based off of military skills and experience and have no form of military rank. The Legate is the commander-in-chief and the de-facto head of the legion's military while Caesar is its master, owner, and ruler who the legion fights for without hesitation or question. Inexperienced fighters have basic garments and crude, often only melee weapons, while more experienced and veteran fighters have body armor and better weapons such as sharper knives and machetes, assault rifles and other firearms, and even explosives. While the the Legion opposes over-reliance on technology, they will make use of it if forced to, and in the NCR Arizona Offensive, they managed to field small numbers (less than 100) of pre-war vehicles and even a handful of aircraft, in an attempt to counter the newly arrived NCR mechanized forces, though the crews were generally inexperienced and poorly trained, and proved no match for their NCR counterparts. The one form of military technology that the Legion is unilaterally opposed to are any form of military robot or aerial drone, viewing the use of robots as making human soldiers weaker. Infantry The vast majority of the Legion is made up of infantry, and may recruited from the strongest members of tribes and communities conquered by the Legion, or trained from a young age. Those who survive the physically intensive and downright brutal training are placed into Legion military formations as recruits, which are typically issued with only a crude sword or machete and possibly a few similarly crudely constructed javelins, though they are not forbidden from carrying purchased or scavenged firearms, though these are often in far poor condition than those of their NCR counterparts. Recruit Legionaries are often used as "cannon fodder", placed at the head of formations, and thus suffer high mortality rates. Those that survive are promoted to the ranks of "Prime Legionaries", the middle ranks in Legion infantry formations, armed with better weapons, including firearms such as rifles, pump-action shotguns, and submachine guns. These purpose of the Prime Legionaries is to overwhelm enemies that have already been weakened by Recruits. The most experienced Legionaries will be placed within the Veteran ranks, placed at the rear of infantry formations, and tasked with reinforcing faltering lines, overwhelming particularly stubborn enemies, and preventing the less experienced forward ranks from retreating. The Veteran rear ranks are armed with the best weapons, including assault rifles, explosives, and even anti-materiel rifles. The very best of the Veteran Legionaries are given command positions, and are equipped with the best weapons and armor available to the Legion. ''Frumentarii'' Frumentarii are the intelligence agents and special forces of the Legion, operating sepearately from the rest of the Legion, handpicked by Caesar and answering only to Caesar himself. Frumentarii may act as spies, saboteurs, or assassins sent to infiltrate enemy factions and provide intelligence or weaken them from within. The frumentarii were responsible for a number of infamous acts of terror committed by the Legion throughout their history, such as the Nipton Massacre and the use of pre-war nuclear waste as a radiological weapon against Camp Searchlight. The most infamous member of the frumentarii was Vulpes Inculta, the commander of the frumentarii during their Legion's Arizona, New Mexico, and Mojave campaigns. ''Essedarii'' The essedarii (Latin: charioteers) are the operators of vehicles under Legion control. Initially the few vehicles they held were used only as transports for Legion VIPs and, in the case of some equipped with improvised armor and weapons, for intimidation. After the defeat at the Second Battle of Hoover Dam and the subsequent freeing up of NCR armored assets previously deployed against the Brotherhood of Steel prior to the Treaty of Lost Hills, the Legion was forced to change their tactics. Realizing this, Aurelius of Phoenix ordered the refurbishment and deployment of as many pre-war vehicles as possible, forcibly recruiting any wastelanders with even the slightest amount of experience. The Legion managed to field about 100 pre-war military vehicles and a larger number of improvised fighting vehicles, however, their crews ere almost invariably inexperienced and poorly trained, proving easy targets for NCR and allied forces. Impressively given the haphazard nature of the repair operation, the Legion forces in Flagstaff and Phoenix even managed to repair a handful of aircraft and associated simulators found in pre-war bunkers, however, the few essedarii tasked to pilot crashed many of their aircraft, and many were destroyed on the ground. The less that ten that did get airborne and did not immediately crash were all shot down by NCR and Brotherhood aircraft. ''Ballistarii'' The ballistarii, named from the Latin for a ballista crewman, are the Legion's artillery crews. During the early days of the Legion's conquest, the Legion made little use of pre-war artillery, as the tribes and wasteland communities they faced had few fortifications that could not be simply overrun by the massive hordes of infantry used by the Legion. Those artillery pieces that they did possess were often either kept in forts or else occasionally brought in for sieges of major settlements. Even as they moved into NCR territory, the border outposts such as Fort Aradesh (not to be mistaken for the NCR capital of the same name) and Bullhead City had small garrisons which could be easily overrun, albeit with heavy casualties. This began to change after the First Battle of Hoover Dam, where the Legion realized that the NCR's use of snipers and heavy gun emplacements on the dam, as well as the use of carefully placed mines could annihilate even a large force of charging Legionaries. One early champion of the ballistarii was commander of the Praetorian Guard, Lucius, who bought an old howitzer from a scavenger and attempted to repair it. After the defeat at the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, and the subsequent increase in the amount of NCR heavy weapons facing Legion after they were freed up by the Treaty of Lost Hills. In response to this, new Caesar Aurelius of Phoenix ordered the refurbishment of as many pre-war artillery pieces as possible, and the training of crews as quickly as possible. During this period, scavengers with even the slightest bit of technical knowledge were often forcibly recruited to assist in the restoration of the weapons. The ballistarii also made use of improvised mortars and rockets, and even improvised catapults and ballistae similar to those of their ancient counterparts, constructed from old truck springs and firing bolts tipped with shaped charges and mini-nukes, used as short range weapons fired from hidden positions in urban terrain. In addition to their lower quality weapons, the ballistarii were also often less well-trained and less experienced than their counterparts in the NCR and Boomers. Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard are, like the ancient Roman unit for which they are named, the personal bodyguards of Caesar, as well as Legates and other high-ranking leaders of the Legion. New members of the Praetorian are the most skilled veterans of the Legion, of at least the rank of Centurion, who are invited to select whichever member of the guard they believe is the weakest and challenge him to an unarmed fight to the death. If the prospective Praetorian defeats and kills the existing member, they take their opponent's place in the guard. Training of the Praetorian guard focuses heavily on melee and, in particular, unarmed combat, based on the philosophy that if one's gun jams or blade breaks, one must be able to rely on one's bare hands. Reflecting this philosophy, Praetorians are often armed exclusively with "ballistic fists", a gauntlet with a pair of shotgun barrels activated by a pressure switch which is activated by punching the target. These weapons, along with their peak levels of physical fitness and combat training make Praetorians extremely dangerous foes in close combat. As the Legion met more heavily armed foes, however, it was found that the Praetorians needs a means to counter enemies attacking at long range with high-powered rifles. For this reason, Praetorians may carry firearms such as M199 carbines when they are expected to engage in long range combat. After the Second Battle of Hoover Dam showed the destructive power of long-range firearms, the use of firearms by the Praetorians became more frequent, though they retained a strong emphasis on close combat. In addition to combat, the Praetorians are also trained spotting disguised infiltrators and concealed weapons in order to allow them to locate and thwart would-be assassins. Because of their advanced status, Praetorians are also sometimes used alongside the frumentarii as the "special forces" of the Legion, often lead assassination squads against well protected or heavily armed targets. Territory While the Legion began in the area around the Grand Canyon in Arizona, they expanded rapidly, eventually conquering 86 tribes and city-states, gaining control of a larger territorial area in the Southwestern United States. Officially, the Legion claimed the entirety of the "Four Corners" region of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado, however, in truth, they did not control all of the area. Nonetheless, the Legion controlled a vast amount of territory at its peak, including practically all of the former-US state of Arizona, most of New Mexico, large parts of Colorado, parts of Utah, and small areas of the Texas (the El Paso area), Nevada, and the former Mexican state of Sonora. The Legion controlled the remains of the Interstate 40, Interstate 25, and Interstate 70, all three of which continued to be major trade routes in the post-war period, including the major mountain passes of the Raton Pass between New Mexico and Colorado on I-25 and Vail Pass and the Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70, which cross the Rockies in Colorado. While the Legion regularly patrols the major roads on the valleys, their control of more isolated mountain regions is far weaker, and in some places groups opposing the Legion, ranging from small tribes and raider gangs to larger resistance movements such the remnants of the Union of the Ute and Navajo Nations, remain hidden in the mountains in spite of the Legions best attempts to dislodge them. The Legion pushed into the Midwest and managed to occupy significant portions of Midwest territory, but these areas were heavily contested between the Legion and the Midwest Confederation throughout the 2280s and well into the 2290s. In 2291, the Legion began to lose more and more territory and was gradually reduced to a rump state by 2298. Pockets of Legionniares kept on fighting in lost territory formerly under their control, but they were usually inactive for long periods of time to conserve what little strength they had. By 2300, the Legion has been reduced to a small pocket north of the Llano Confederation and is surrounded by enemies on all sides. Language While much of the Legion use English in day-to-day communication, the upper echelons of the Legion are fluent in Latin, which was introduced to them by Edward "Caesar" Sallow. This is done both for ceremonial reasons and the "set apart" the commanders from the common citizens, and to make it more difficult for rebels or external enemies to discover the Legion's plans, though many post-war nations, most notably the NCR, have personnel familiar with Latin, having learned from pre-war books and dictionaries. While only the upper echelons are fluent in Latin, most Legion soldiers are familiar with important Latin phrases such as "Ave Caesar!"- "Hail Caesar!", and "Honestas, Industria, Prudentia"- "Honesty, Industry, and Prudence", the three values instilled by the Legion. The Legion dialect of Latin is most similar to the Roman latin, but with many distinctions, often the result of grammatical errors and misinterpretations, as well as the incorporation of the modern words and concepts into the Legion lexicon. Examples of Legion words for modern items include "arma ignis" (lit. fire weapon)- gun / firearm, plaustrum automobilum" - (self-moving wagon)- a car or vehicle, and "arca communicata"- (communication box), radio. In some cases, these terms may be replaced with "Latinizations" of English words, like "pistolus" - pistol. Currency Caesar's Legion uses two old forms of currency which were also used in Roman times from 2250 to 2295. They are minted by the Legion in the form of silver and gold coins, each coin bearing the profile of Caesar. Despite Caesar's poor relations with the other factions in New Vegas, Legion currency is still accepted as payment in the Mojave Wasteland, owing to the high level of trade with the Legion and the safety of its territory for caravans. The exchange rate is 4 bottle caps to 1 Denarius, and 100 bottle caps to 1 Aureus. The Denarius (silver), which bears an image of a younger Caesar on the obverse and Caesar, Joshua Graham and Calhoun on the reverse. The inscriptions are in Latin, "Caesar Dictator" meaning "Dictator Caesar" or "Absolute Ruler Caesar" on the front and "Magnum Chasma" meaning "Great Abyss" or "Great Fissure" on the back, referring to the Grand Canyon. The symbolism is simple - the denarius commemorates young Caesar's journey to the Canyon and his first victories as a dictator of the tribes. The Aureus (gold), which bears the portrait of the older Caesar on one side and the symbol of the 10th Legion (the bull) on the other. The inscriptions are in Latin, "Aeternit Imperi" meaning "For the eternity of the empire" on the front and "Pax Per Bellum" meaning "Peace through War" on the back. Religion The Legion follows the Cult of Mars, created by Caesar in 2250 after claiming he was the Son of Mars. Members of the Legion believe that the war god cleansed the Earth with fire so that Caesar could conquer the Earth and save it from chaos. Most members of the Legion are oblivious to their society's basis in Ancient Roman culture and believe that their customs were dictated to Caesar by Mars himself. However, after they lost the second battle of Hoover Dam, the state's religion becomes slowly irrelevant within the past two-three decades, its citizens as the NCR is pushing taking its territories are losing faith with the Cult. Which resulted in two known minor schisms for which into worshipped different gods while remain mostly monotheistic like the Cult of Jupiter or Cult of Faunus are formed after Caesar's death and founded by one of the Legion's slaves, while the NCR successfully pushing hard to taking their territories into new Republic puppets. By the time of 2301, the Cult of Mars has remained of 5,000-7,100 devoted followers and 100,500 less active followers within the rump version of the Legion, as the Cults of Jupiter and Faunus has become a minority religions (around 10-15% in Arizona and 7-12% in New Mexico) within both Republics of Arizona and New Mexico as a legacy of the Legion's demise. Category:Post-War Factions Category:Post-War militaries Category:Caesar's Legion Category:Post-War Countries